Tag: Family

Oh Honey… I Got a List!

Wiwohka14 Comments
Daily writing prompt
What could you try for the first time?
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While I’m not an adrenaline junkie sort of adventurer, I’ve had list after list of ideas to be tried for the first time! It began when I was a tiny girl, forever dreaming of things I wanted to do when I grew up.

Remember my Easy Bake Oven? I wanted to be a baker from the moment I melted my first pile of cookie dough under a hot lightbulb.

I was forever trying to rescue injured or stray animals, so I then wanted to be an animal doctor/national geographic reporter/animal whisperer! Seriously! I used to dream about finding a baby chimpanzee on the side of the road, somehow miraculously raising and returning it to the jungles… that was one of my favorite daydreams. I knew I wanted to be a mommy from the first battery operated cry that erupted out of the new baby doll I was given. I ventured out to every single boring yard sale and/or thrift store trip my mother visited, looking for each and every baby item possible. My babies had it all, from the blankets and clothes to the bottles, pacifiers, strollers, diaper bags, fake food, etc. I think you get the picture… I’m what one calls a Lister!

I was writing lists from the time I learned to spell, keeping them safely hidden beneath my mattress, away from spying eyes.

Over the years I’ve trained horses, bred and raised everything from birds to dogs, traveled to distant countries, bore three children, traveled with my husband in a Semi across the whole of America, lived in an RV for four years, ran a full scale lady’s hair salon in the big city, ran my own nail salon for five years, walked in 5 different full marathons, and been a model… who knew?!

Why, just last year I decided to write a book, and am now preparing to begin my third, so that’s certainly a joyful win win… as far as trying something new goes.

If you’re thinking I’m bragging about things, let me remind you that my life is far from a Hollywood success story… and in none of my endeavors did I say that I was fantastic at any of them. I only want you to see what I mean when I say I am known as what is called a Lister… love lists, love trying new things, love writing everything down. While some might say that I have a problem… I just think I’m a big kid at heart!

Currently, I’m sitting with a list of three things that I want to try. I want to do theatre, sing at Karaoke, and try stand-up comedy… just once! Way out of my comfort zone, but a girls gotta dream…

Have a cookie…

Do You Remember…

Wiwohka5 Comments

Manners

I don’t know about any of you, but I grew up in a time where manners and respect were the norm…you know, don’t speak until spoken to…if you don’t have anything nice to say, then don’t say anything at all… those kinds of manners.  As an adult, like most people, I developed the habit of being kind and polite to others.  This is a fundamental skill in relating to people, and most valuably, in living together in close quarters with them. 

Marriage is a great example of this kind of attitude, as we all know the adage that love covers over a multitude of sins…dirty laundry, bad breath, and the like, are those things we accept in our partner, as we understand they must put up with ours as well!

My husband and I had to take this a whole level deeper than most, as we shared the cab of a semi for a handful of years early on in our marriage.  He was an over the road truck driver and I was his NAGavator…he bought me a hat with that engraved on the front, lol, and I still have that hat to this day…ya ya, I know, the nagging is a lifetime skill that I have diligently perfected! 

Part of the reality of driving a tractor trailer full time is that you have to eat and sleep sometime, and that means having to park an 18-wheeler, fully loaded down, that cannot be left unattended.  Sometimes, when we were in route and exhausted, the only places available for stopping were rest areas. 

On one such occasion, we found ourselves somewhere in the Midwest, on a highway of endless nothing to entertain us, and we decided to take a break, grabbing a bite to eat and perhaps a nap, if time allowed for it.  We spotted the familiar mile marker signs that signal an upcoming rest area, and pulled off the highway when the exit appeared. 

Once we pulled into an available slip, we turned off the main engine, and started making lunch.  We got a little side tracked…

Now this is where manners came into play, oddly enough…while we were Napping!  Amidst our time of rest, there arose an odor, faint at first, but gaining intensity over time.  In the back of my mind, I thought to myself, maybe he is not feeling well or something…unbeknownst to me, he was thinking the same as I was.

          Long story short, we eventually climbed out of the cab to enter the rest area facilities…all the while, the smell had become rather overwhelming. Stubbornly, neither of us were going to be the one to address the “dirty diaper in the room”.  Just as he shut the truck door to lock it, we heard a long chorus of cows mooing from off behind where the rest area was.

We looked over to see a huge dairy on the hillside behind the stop, and realized where the foul odor had been emanating from. We both burst out in relieved laughter…

He thought I did it, I thought he did it, and with good manners in place, were both prepared to hide it from the other, til the cows came home, I guess…

Investigating Truths…

Wiwohka3 Comments

So, as I am getting a bit more organized, my Investigating Truths episodes will become my journaling storyboard, using all of you sweet people as my crash test smarties…my hope is that you will come along with me as I try my hand at sharing my truths with other souls in all different forms. I want to do this because in the same sense that people learn in different formats, they also receive grace, love, and mercy in just the same manor. My wish is to always stay a few steps outside of the “Normal” boxes that we can find ourselves stuck in. Think of Journey With Me as a cozy little lobby, with no door to close anyone out, filled with plush and colorful sofas to stay as long as one wishes, and right in the center is a table for any who stop by…

Apon this table I wish to have lovely bowls filled to overflowing with little gifts of joy, laughter, wisdom, truth, grace, and mercy pouring out over the edges…these vessels are never empty, as I have a supplier that delivers an unending supply…nothing ever expires!

It is my passion and purpose to ensure that you always feel welcome in this lobby, just remember, I am no more than an administrative assistant to a very Self Sufficient Site Manager! He supplies me with whatever I need, so if you are ever in need of some, please receive freely, as there is no charge here for love, acceptance, and extended stay guests…welcome!!!!!!!!!

I want to start us out now on a test run of a more poetic style…

This style is being practiced with a copy of a letter I wrote to my first born. Dreams impact me in a way I cannot fully explain, so I try to write them down thinking that with time, I may come to decipher some secret code…lol. I am still not fully sure of what this meant but I hope you will enjoy the format I tried to follow, very loosely, by the way!

I Dreamt of You…

Down along a 2-lane road, driving slowly around each bend and curve, Lush green foliage covering the hillside, giving shade as we passed by

Ocean waves met the eyes, if one followed the hillside down, drawing the eyes onward, toward a delicate little town

Finding ourselves within a U-shaped cove, the endless clear glass blue came and went from beyond the shore

Cobblestone lined the streets, buildings of soft colors greeted our eyes, Beckoning one inside for toys and treats

Though no other cars appeared, a plane rested upon the shore, the bottom made of glass and with delicate silver handles upon the door

You, Babybear, are the only face I remember clearly,

flying low over the ocean waters, you were sitting on the glass bottom surrounded by soft light

Time seemed to stand still as whales began swimming to you, Up to the window they came, seeking your tiny hands

Your arms stretched out to reach, eagerness filled your eyes, you had the most beautiful smile, and I could feel your joy and excitement

  I couldn’t stop watching you, the happiness clearly on your face, and the look in your eyes, forever it was etched into my memory

Under water we flew and into a cavern of brilliant lights we appeared, vivid blues, reds, purples and every color imaginable, were here being cast about, reflecting off the stone

Suddenly, the cavern filled with a multitude of whales, along with their young ones, gracefully gliding by

Through the glass we touched them, trailing fingers along their skin, as if nothing were in between, and Glass no longer appeared

You began floating amidst them, gently carried on invisible currents, Baluga whales began appearing, Dolphins as well

Swimming freely with all of them, you breathed water as if it were air

I was the only one who spoke in this dream, saying Gentle we must be, for if this be a birthing place, mindful these mothers now seem, of this I was sure, for as you are my child, it would be that for me…

You may only be a small child, and though I don’t understand this dream, I will always believe that you are a very special little girl.

Love Mom.